The orange army has arrived.
Saturday marked the launch of Colorado’s biggest of the fall thus far. The so-called second rifle season that runs through Oct. 26 is open to deer hunters who drew limited licenses from the lottery held earlier this year and an unlimited number of elk hunters purchasing over-the-counter tags in any of the state’s 92 game management units that offer them.
In addition, over-the-counter with caps rifle bear licenses are available to hunters holding deer or elk licenses in the same unit during the same season. The nine-day muzzleloader season for pronghorn begins Tuesday as well.
But if you’re talking big game hunting in Colorado, you’re essentially talking about elk. Some 220,000 elk hunters marched through the state last year, compared with just over 77,000 deer hunters, nearly 19,000 pronghorn hunters and more than 15,000 bear hunters, among others.
That’s nearly one hunter for each of the estimated 264,000 elk in the state, almost 55,000 of them accounting for nearly 259,000 “hunter days” during the second rifle season alone. Despite a success rate of just 16 percent for the week, it’s far and away the most popular time to hunt.
Factor in an additional 23,000 deer hunting licenses issued for second rifle season, accounting for more than 90,000 days in the field, and the required blaze- orange attire may just outshine the remaining autumn aspens on the hillsides.
“Wear extra orange,” big game hunting guide Jim Arnold said as he led a group of hunters into the woods of Summit County last week. “That’s what I tell my guys.”
As for what to expect in terms of animal activity, that’s just about anyone’s guess this week. Long-range weather forecasts are calling for mild conditions throughout the northern and central mountains, diminishing any sense of urgency for elk migrating to lower elevations. Deer have yet to enter the rut, but they haven’t experienced much hunting pressure yet either.
First-season elk hunters encountered varying degrees of success during what’s considered the prime rifle hunting season in Colorado, with about a 23 percent success rate among just more than 10,500 hunters in 2013. Early reports indicate a significant bear harvest as well.
“That’s our premier elk season,” said Andy Holland, big game manager for Colorado Parks and Wildlife. “The rest of them are going to depend on conditions, what kind of snow we get and when. A lot of it really does depend on storm conditions.”
Interestingly enough, varying weather patterns have worked out to establish fairly consistent statewide elk harvest numbers over the past few years.
“It washes out a little,” Holland said. “The northern mountains tend to get snow that the southern mountains don’t, and vice versa. So it really just depends on where you are hunting.”
Mule deer hunters tend to see more success in the third and fourth seasons, Holland said, when deer enter the rut and move to winter range. The third rifle season, running Nov. 1-9, is another combined deer-elk opportunity offering over-the-counter bull elk tags to residents and nonresidents, qualifying it as the second-most crowded in the woods. All deer tags in Colorado are awarded through the limited license draw.
Scott Willoughby: swilloughby@denverpost.com or twitter.com/swilloughby
